What does Jihad mean?

The word Jihad representsa concept which is much misunderstood in the
West. The concept is explained nicely by the Christian scholar Ira 6.
Zepp, Jr. in his book entitled A Muslim Primer on pages 133-135.We
adapt from his answer thefollowing:
The essential meaning of Jihad is the spiritual, psychological, and
physical effort we exert tobe close to God and thus achieve a just and
harmonious society. Jihad literallymeans "striving" or "struggle" and
is shorthand for Jihad fi Sabeel Allah (struggle for God's cause). In
a sense, every Muslim is a Mujahid,one who strives for God and
justice.
Al-Ghazali captured the essence of Jihad when he said: "The real Jihad
is the warfare against (one's own) passions. Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi
calls Jihad "the execution of effortagainst evil in the self and
every manifestation of evil in society." In a way, Jihad is the
Muslim's purest sacrifice: a struggle to livea perfect life and
completely submit to God.
Another form of Jihad is the striving to translate the Word of God
into action. If one has experienced God and received guidance from the
Qur'an, one struggles to apply that guidance in daily life. So the
larger, more prevalent meaning of Jihad is the spiritual struggle of
the soul. In this case, Jihad is always present for the believer
whether there is an external enemy or not. We should never reduce
Jihad to violence.
A third level of Jihad is popularly known as "holy war." The classic
passage is found in the Qur'an:
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight against you, but transgress
not the limits. Truly Allah likesnot the transgressors (Qur'an 2:190).
It is crucial to note here that what is condoned is defensive warfare;
Islam cannot justify aggressive war. Muhammad and the Tradition are
also against killing non-combatants, torturing of prisoners, the
destruction of crops, animals andhomes. Adapted from Ira 6. Zepp,
Jr., A Muslim Primer (1992,Wakefield Editions, US) pp.133-135.
Robert Ellwood of the University of Southern California has the
following to say about the Muslimconcept of Jihad:
Out of the community ideal of Islam comes the concept of jihad,or
holy war, which is designed to defend Islam and allow itssocial
practice, though notto force individual conversions, which is
forbidden. Since Islam in principleis a community as well as a
religion, presumably only an absolute pacifist would beable to reject
the theory of jihad out of hand, since other communities also fight to
defend or expand their ways of life. (Many Peoples, Many Faiths by
Robert S. Ellwood, 4th edition, Simon & Schuster,US, 1982, p.346)./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

a]If a person prays some of Taraweeh with the imam then prays Witr and leaves, will it be recorded for him as having prayed qiyaam al-layl?

a]
completely finished. Although some brothers leave when they have prayed eleven rak‘ahs and say that this isthe number of rak‘ahs that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peaceof Allah be upon him) prayed, and we agree with them that it is betterto follow the number thatthe Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed and no one doubts this, nevertheless I think that there is no reason why the number of rak‘ahs should not be increased. This is not on the basis of turning away from the number chosen by the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but on the basis thatthis is part of the goodness that it is prescribed to seek more of.
But the problem is if thereare two Witrs in one night, what should the worshipper do?
We say: if you want to pray tahajjud with the second imam, when the first imam prays Witr, do an additional rak‘ahs so that you will be praying two by two, and if you donot want to pray tahajjud at the end of the night, then pray Witr with the first imam, then if it so happens that after that you pray tahajjud, then do another rak‘ah after Witr with the second imam. End quote.
Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 13/436
What should be done in this case is that the people of the mosque should agree upon the number of rak‘ahs they will pray each night, which should suit all or most of them, so that there will not be any division among the worshippers and so that none of them will be deprived of reward, whichthey may be keen to attain were it not for theirwork.
We ask Allah to accept from us all and help us to obey Him.
And Allah knows best./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

If a person prays some of Taraweeh with the imam then prays Witr and leaves, will it be recorded for him as having prayed qiyaam al-layl?

In the mosque in the neighbourhood where I live, twenty rak‘ahs of Taraweeh are offered, as well as two rak‘ahs of al-shaf‘ and Witr. Now, as ‘Isha’ prayer will be held very late, we were thinking of praying Witr for those who want to leave the prayer early, and on that basis this group will pray the two rak‘ahs of al-shaf‘ and Witr with the qaari’, then they will leave, and the qaari’ will stay and complete the remaining rak‘ahs. Is it permissible to do that? Will those who are going to pray tenrak‘ahs with the (one) rak‘ah of Witr and then leave take the same reward as those who praybehind the other imam and pray twenty-three rak‘ahs in all? I hope you can advise us about this issue because we are thinking of implementing it starting next Ramadan, in sha Allah. May Allah reward you with good forthis advice.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is proven from the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he encouraged praying Taraweeh in congregation and he said:“Whoever stays with the imam until he leaves, (thereward of) qiyaam al-layl will be written for him.”
Narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi (806); also narrated by Abu Dawood (1375), al-Nasaa’i (1605), and Ibn Maajah (1327). Also classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
This reward will not be attained by anyone but the one who prays with the imam until he has finished all the prayers. The one who only prays some of the prayer and then leaves is not entitledto the reward promised inthis hadeeth, which is thatof spending a night in prayer (qiyaam laylah).
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
If a person prays in Ramadan with someone who prays twenty-three rak‘ahs, but he only prays eleven and does not complete the prayer with the imam, is this action of his in accordance with theSunnah?
He replied: The Sunnah is to complete the prayer with the imam, even if he prays twenty-three rak ‘ahs, because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever stands (in prayer) with the imam until he finishes, Allah will record for him (the reward of) spending a night in prayer.” According to another report: “… The rest of that night.”
It is better for one who is praying behind an imam to stay with him until he finishes, whether he prayseleven rak‘ahs or thirteen or twenty three or whatever. That is preferable, to follow the imam until he finishes. End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 11/325
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Praying qiyaam in Ramadan is attained by praying part of the night, such as half of it or one third of it, whether that is by praying eleven rak‘ahs or twenty-three. Qiyaam is attained by praying behind the neighbourhood imam until he finishes, even if he finishes within one hour.
Imam Ahmad used to pray with the imam and not leave until he finished, acting in accordance with the hadeeth. And whoever wants to attain this reward has to pray with the imam until he finishesWitr, whether he prays a little or a lot, and whetherthe time taken is long or short. End quote.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen. 24/9
If two imams pray in the mosque, then Taraweeh prayer is the prayer of both the imams, so the one who wants to attain the reward of spending the night in prayer shouldnot leave until the secondimam has completed his prayer and leaves.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) was asked: What about one who prays Taraweeh with the first imam, then leaves and says: I will have (the reward for) praying qiyaam al-layl according to the text of the hadeethbecause I started with theimam and finished with him?
He replied: As for his saying, “Whoever stands (in prayer) with the imam until he finishes, Allah willrecord for him (the reward of) spending a night in prayer”, that is correct.
But if there are two imams in one mosque, is each one of them regarded as independent of the other or is each of them the deputy of the other?
What would seem to be correct is the second understanding – that eachof them is the deputy of the other and is complementary to him. Based on this, if two imams pray in the mosque, then these two imams are to be regardedas if they are one imam. So the worshipper should stay until the second imam finishes, because we know that prayer behind the second imam is complementary to prayer behind the first one.
Based on this, what we advise our brothers to do is to follow the imams there in the Haram until they are completely finished.
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Three imams reply to the atheists

"Is there any proof that God exists?" was asked, by an atheist, of
Imam Abu Hanifa and he replied,"Forget it! At the moment,I am busy
thinking about this ship. People tell me there is a big ship, it
contains
different goods on board. There is no one to steer it,no one
maintaining it. Yet, this ship keeps going back and forth; it even
traverses big waves on the oceans; it stops at the locations that it
is supposed to stop at; it continues in the direction that it is
supposed to head. This ship has no captain and no one planning its
trips."
The atheist who posed the question interrupted and exclaimed, "What
kind of strange and silly thought is this? How can any intelligent
person think that some thing likethis can occur?"
Imam Abu Hanifa said, "I feel sorry about your state! You cannot
imagineone ship running without some one looking after itsaffairs. Yet
you think that for this whole world, which runs exactly and precisely,
there is no one who looks after it, and no one owns it."
Hearing the reply, the atheist was left speechlessbut he found out
more about Haqq (The Truth) and proclaimed Islam.
Imam Shaa'fi replied to the question in the following way, "The leaves
of Toot (berries) are all but one. Each leaf tastes exactly the same.
Insects, honey bees, cows,goats, and deer live off of it. After eating
these the insects produce silk; bees produce honey; deer give musk (a
special kind of scent), cows and goats deliver off-springs. Is this
not clear evidence that one kind of leaf has so many qualities, and
who created these qualities? It is the Khaliq (Creator) whowe call
Allah (S.W.T.) Who is the Inventor and the Creator."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal reflected on the question in the following way.
He said, "There is an incredibly strong fort, it has no doors, there
is no way to get in. In fact, there is not even a hole init. From
outside it glows like the moon and from inside it shimmers like gold.
It is sealed from all sides, matter of fact it is air tight. Suddenly
one of its doors breaks down, a living thing with eyes andears, a
beautiful looking animal appears yelling and wandering all over. So is
not there a creator who made it possible for life to take place in
this secured and closed fort? And is not this Creator better than
humans? This Creator has no limit." Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was
referring to an egg which is closed from all sides but Allah (S.W.T.)
The Khaliq (Creator) puts life in it and a chick pops out.

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